On my way to class last week, I passed two professors outside of Gerlinger Hall arguing about the effectiveness of the colon. This overheard conversation snippet intrigued me for a few reasons. First, I thought they had to be English teachers coming from the library arguing about punctuation, but then I realized it was equally plausible that they could be middle-aged men trying to reassure one another about the necessity of a looming colonoscopy exam.
It struck me as odd that professors should need to talk about something as basic as a colon, whether it was in regards to a pesky punctuation mark or a digestion essential. It hit me a few days later that often the simplest things in life are the ones we never cease to talk about, no matter how many other more important topics exist.
This is the reason why The White Stripes will always be Jack White’s most recognized form of fame. On the surface, The White Stripes is a two-piece garage band from Detroit composed of Jack and Meg White, playing guitar and drums, respectively. The White Stripes’s biggest hit, “Seven Nation Army,” is chanted at seemingly every sporting event in the world by thousands of people because of its simplistic melody and unifying motif of “We can’t be stopped.”
The simplicity is undeniable, yet the exclusion of the rest of Jack White’s career is a shame and a mistake for White’s inevitable inscription into the annals of rock history.
Jack White is the most innovative person in music on Earth, yet he will always be remembered for a single groundbreaking song. In reality, he should be remembered for his unending contribution to the fight against the decline of album sales. I’m in no way saying he is the greatest musician ever (or that “Seven Nation Army” is undeserving of its popularity), but the man who Rolling Stone magazine once correctly dubbed “rock & roll’s Willy Wonka” has done more for the struggling record industry than anyone else.
His latest music video is, in typical Jack White fashion, an atypical one. “That Black Bat Licorice” is a three-in-one video which allows users to control what version appears onscreen by pressing various keys. The standard version is an animated video directed by James Blagden; White and an ancient Egyptian star in the video, which eventually finds White cutting off his own tongue.
By holding the “3” key, a live-action video directed by White appears in which he pensively watches as he is taunted by a dancing man in a George Washington mask. White also finds the time to rock out on air violin in a rocking chair with a smirk threatening to creep through at any moment.
The third form, shown while holding the “B” key, is of a group of people headbanging to the song like there’s no tomorrow.
All three videos are synchronized, revealing an intricately layered production, as exemplified in the tongue severing sequence. The headbang version foreshadows the cut by focusing on a table saw, as White brings the box cutter closer to his tongue in the animated scene. After the tongue is cut, White holds a potato chip resembling his severed tongue in the live-action version.
This is far from the first innovative musical innovation White has created. In 2001, White began the independent record label Third Man Records, but it only truly became a force in 2009 whena physical store was opened in Nashville, Tennessee. Since then, White and Third Man have pushed the boundaries of what is possible for a seven or 12-inch piece of vinyl and made buying music worthwhile in a world overrun by iTunes, illegal downloads and free streaming services.
Lazaretto, White’s second solo album, was released last year on vinyl as the “Ultra LP.” The disc itself is overloaded with unique features, but the most unbelievable feature is the hologram of a spinning angel that appears on the vinyl when caught in the correct light.
The Ultra LP broke Pearl Jam’s 20-year record for first week vinyl sales (Vitalogy) and was 2014’s best selling vinyl album with 150,000 units sold in the world.
The list of White’s eccentric record creations include:
The world’s fastest record pressing
The Rolling record store
In-store recording booth
Lazaretto Ultra LP
Quarterly Vault packages
Liquid Filled Record
A 3 RPM record with every single released on Third Man Records
Triple Decker Record
Glow-in-the-dark Halloween singles
A peach-scented record
On-label hidden tracks
13-inch Broken Boy Soldiers LP
Flexi-disc helium balloon exclusive release of “Freedom At 21”
The incredibly ambitious Rise and Fall of Paramount Records series
Part 2 of the Paramount series
A 3D virtual concert experience app
The Greeting Card Gatefold Record
Reggie Watts hair record
Pop Up Postcards from the Rolling Record Store
White will hopefully continue to add to his long list of creations, creating an even greater urgency for his legacy to be remembered as more than just the composer of “Seven Nation Army.” Once again, there is so much more to be known of White than the surface-level information.
By digging deeper into the history of The White Stripes, we find that Jack and Meg are not actually brother and sister, contrary to what Jack tells the press. In 1996, John Gillis married Megan White, taking her last name. In 2000, John White divorced Megan White. The White Stripes debut album was released in 1999 and the two proceeded to make De Stijl the year of the divorce and began touring as a “sibling” band to reduce awkward media exposure.
Icky Thump is the final White Stripes album, but is far from the final Jack White record. White is also involved in The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather and of course, his solo career.
Kobe Bryant is often remembered for his 81 point scoring outburst in 2006, but his greatness, ultimately, will be determined by the five championship rings he owns. “Seven Nation Army” is Jack White’s 81 point outburst, but his career should be remembered for his championship rings, that being: The White Stripes as a game changing two-piece Detroit rock band, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, his solo career and most importantly for being the Willy Wonka of records, which he continually proves himself to be.